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Legal matters

pricing error

25 replies

iloveholidays · 22/08/2013 17:46

there was recently a post on the Christmas bargain thread about a vtech robot being on sale for £13. A lot of us has made the purchase however it has since come to light that it was a pricing error.

They are now phoning round saying they won't honour the price. so do we have a leg to stand on?

some people have received theirs at the reduced price and others have received order acknowledgements saying we'll receive when back in Stock on 29th. The people who have received the robots have not had any further emails. also money has been taken out of our accounts.

One mumsnetter has been online and believes that as they haven't sent any further confirmations and have delivered to some at the reduced price then they have given us the understanding that we are in a contract.

any advice out there?

thanks

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prh47bridge · 22/08/2013 18:17

It depends on whether or not they have accepted your order. If they have accepted your order there is a contract and they must honour it. However, if they have not accepted the order they can cancel it. The existence of a confirmation email on its own does not necessarily mean they have accepted your order. Where you stand depends on the website's terms and conditions and the wording of any confirmation email you received when you placed the order.

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LIZS · 22/08/2013 18:20

Just because they had delivered some before realising the issue doesn't mean they have to continue to honour that price, especially if not in stock.

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iloveholidays · 22/08/2013 18:41

Thank you. I think this is the relevant bit...

2.5 The Order is an offer by you to enter into a binding contract, which we are free to accept or decline at our absolute discretion.

2.6 These Terms shall become binding on you and us when:
2.6.1 we issue you with written acceptance of an Order (?Order Confirmation?); or
2.6.2 we deliver the Goods to you, whichever is the earlier, at which point a contract shall come into existence between us (a ?Contract?).

I think where we wonder if we have a case is because they don't appear to actually send order confirmations and therefore would an order acknowledgement stand in its place? There is no doubt that we've been led to believe that we have a contract, especially as if you log into our account its saying it will be delivered at estimated date of 29th.

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LIZS · 22/08/2013 19:21

So an acknowledgement of your delayed order is not an Order Confirmation?

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TerraNotSoFirma · 22/08/2013 20:25

Watching with interest, I've had the 'welcome' email and the order acknowledgement, money has also been taken from account.

I really hope they honour it, I can afford £13, but not £40.

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SpottyTeacakes · 22/08/2013 20:29

Someone phoned up the company once they had changed the price back and was told they would honour the price but now they're not.

The worst thing is the money left my account on Saturday and I've still had no contact from them even though they clearly know about the mistake so they're not making themselves look very good

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lborolass · 22/08/2013 20:30

This sort of thing seems to happen quite often and I've tried to place orders in the past. I've never been sucessful and tbh I wouldn't really expect to, did you know it was a mistake when you ordered?

I'm all for consumer rights but if it's obviously a cock up life's too short to get annoyed about it imo.

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vix206 · 22/08/2013 20:31

We didnt know it was an error, we all thought it was a sale/special offer.

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98percentchocolate · 22/08/2013 20:32

Just for a bit more information, the e-mail acknowledgement reads:

Item(s) Ordered
The following items will be delivered within 1-2 weeks of your requested delivery date of 21.08.2013;
Product Code Product Description Order Quantity Item Price (&#163)
HE1097923 Gadget The Robot 1.000 10.99
Order Summary
Goods Value: £ 10.99
VAT: £ 2.20
Total Order Value: £ 13.19
Please note that if goods are not in stock at the time of your order, we will endeavour to deliver them to you as soon as possible. The expected delivery date is an estimate only and may be affected by factors outside our control. If goods are unavailable then we will attempt to deliver substitute lines.

The T&C on the website states that a contract is formed between the website and customer when e-mail confirmation is sent out. This is the only order confirmation that they send.

They told me on the phone on Tuesday that they knew about the pricing error and were honouring all the orders.

Today some of us have received phone calls to inform of the pricing error and that they won't be honouring this. Money has, however, left all of our accounts (I know this doesn't necessarily constitute a contract though) and several people have received these robots today at the lower price.

When one mumsnetter argued that it was a breach of the ecommerce act of 2002 they agreed to honour her order at the price of £13.

Not all of us have been contacted so far.

Can we force them to honour all as they have honoured some?

They seem to have form for this - a couple of years ago very similar happened and some people were charged the lower price, some higher, some cancelled and refunded with no communication, and some never contacted but sent the item anyway.

Any advice?

P.S. Hi, Ilove!

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lborolass · 22/08/2013 20:32

x posts with spotty - if they've taken money then I would expect to get the item, that's different to cancelling your order.

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LovesBeingOnHoliday · 22/08/2013 20:33

Sorry if I've missed this bit but have tge people who have been accepted paid by card and those who haven't are on account?

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98percentchocolate · 22/08/2013 20:34

No, nobody knew it was a pricing error. There was no "promotion" aspect to it, it just looked like a listing price (which was consistent with their other items).

I know that due to pricing errors if we knew it was one then the order can be cancelled on those grounds, but it really didn't look like one.

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LovesBeingOnHoliday · 22/08/2013 20:34

I believe legally a is take does not have to be honored, in court Tgey would agree unless Tgey believed it was a genuine attempt to deceive

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98percentchocolate · 22/08/2013 20:35

I paid by card and money has left my account.

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vix206 · 22/08/2013 21:07

I paid by card but as yet no funds have left my account, and I've had no correspondence from them other than the original order confirmation email.

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iloveholidays · 22/08/2013 21:54

Thanks 98 for putting in the extra info. :)

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98percentchocolate · 22/08/2013 22:21

No problem, I hope I wasn't overstepping!!

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prh47bridge · 22/08/2013 22:31

They certainly have to give you your money back if they don't supply the goods.

I think you may have an arguable case that the email constitutes confirmation of your order and that therefore they must honour the price. I would start by pointing out to them what they say in their Ts and Cs, state that in your view the email appears to be an order confirmation and that, by their own Ts and Cs, the contract is therefore binding.

The fact they have told you they were going to honour your order also strengthens your case so I would bring that up too.

Good luck!

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iloveholidays · 23/08/2013 08:04

thank you that's really helpful!

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98percentchocolate · 23/08/2013 08:15

Thank you!

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ChunkyPickle · 23/08/2013 08:30

I'm more than a little bit certain that taking your money counts as confirming the contract - which is why most businesses don't take your money until time of dispatch.

I don't have a reference for it, but I know that when I was looking into setting up an online shop it was mentioned as an important thing.

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prh47bridge · 23/08/2013 10:12

The law on online purchases is not entirely clear. If you have accepted terms and conditions that state the contract is only formed on despatch that may apply even if they have taken your money. The website would, of course, have to refund your money if they did not supply the goods.

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SpottyTeacakes · 23/08/2013 10:22

The t&c state the contract is binding from order confirmation or order dispatch whichever comes first. They send our order acknowledgement but that's the only email they send out so that must be what they mean by order confirmation surely?

They've now had my money for six days I've had no contact from them despite emailing them and its still showing as due to be dispatched in my account details. Pretty shoddy cs either way Hmm

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iloveholidays · 23/08/2013 12:18

prh47bridge, can I just say thanks for your help on this we all appreciate it. nice to know it's worth fighting it even if not entirely clear

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lazzaroo · 05/09/2013 12:06

They have honoured the orders and today is the day that robots are being delivered across the country!

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